This invention relates to new medicinal compositions and methods for treating ear disorders, in particular the treatment of tinnitus.
Tinnitus is a hearing condition that effects a significant portion of the population and is characterized by the sufferer hearing an unpleasant ringing sensation. There are numerous sources available that describe tinnitus, its causes and known treatments. One such source is the OnHealth Network Company website www.onhealth.webmd.com. The OnHealth Network Company is a leading Internet health information and services resource. OnHealth""s website states:
Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is the sensation of hearing ringing, buzzing, hissing, chirping, whistling or other sounds. The noise can be intermittent or continuous, and can vary in loudness. It is often worse when background noise is low, so you may be most aware of it at night when you""re trying to fall asleep in a quiet room. In rare cases, the sound beats in sync with your heart. Tinnitus is very common, affecting an estimated 50 million adults in the United States. For most people the condition is merely an annoyance. In severe cases, however, tinnitus can cause people to have difficulty concentrating and sleeping. It may eventually interfere with work and personal relationships, resulting in psychological distress. About 12 million people seek medical help for severe tinnitus every year.
A wide variety of conditions and illnesses can lead to tinnitus. Blockages of the ear due to a buildup of wax, an infection, or rarely, a tumor of the auditory nerve can cause the unwanted sounds, as can a perforated eardrum. But perhaps the most common source of chronic tinnitus is prolonged exposure to loud sounds. The noise causes permanent damage to the sound-sensitive cells of the cochlea, a spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear. Carpenters, pilots, rock musicians and street-repair workers are among those whose jobs put them at risk, as are people who work with chain saws, guns or other loud devices or who repeatedly listen to loud music. A single exposure to a sudden extremely loud noise can also cause tinnitus.
Certain drugsxe2x80x94most notably aspirin, several types of antibiotics and quinine medicationsxe2x80x94can contribute to the condition as well. In fact, tinnitus is cited as a potential side effect for about 200 prescription and nonprescription drugs. The natural process of aging can result in a deterioration of the cochlea or other parts of the ear and lead to tinnitus.
Tinnitus is also associated with Meniere""s disease, a disorder of the inner ear, and otosclerosis, a degenerative disease of the small bones in the middle ear. Other medical conditions that can cause ringing in the ears include high blood pressure, allergies, anemia and an underactive thyroid.
Tinnitus can also be a symptom of a disorder of the neck or jaw, such as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome. For reasons not yet entirely clear to researchers, stress seems to worsen tinnitus.
Known methods of treating Tinnitus include: 1) cleaning the ear with a cotton-tipped probe, 2) utilizing ear drops containing hydrocortisone, 3) surgery if otosclerosis or a tumor is diagnosed, 4) dental work, 5) drug treatment utilizing the drug LIDOCAINE (LIDOCAINE is a medication for the treatment of certain types of abnormal heart rhythms), 6) utilizing a hearing aid, 7) utilizing a tinnitus masker (a tinnitus masker is a device that resembles a hearing aid and it plays a sound that is more pleasant than the noise produced by the tinnitus), 8) utilizing a tinnitus instrument (a tinnitus instrument is a device that is a combination of a hearing aid and a tinnitus masker), and 9) utilizing a auditory habituation (a auditory habituation is where the tinnitus sufferer wears a device that emits a white noise that is quieter than the tinnitus sound; the brain learns to ignore, or habituate to the tinnitus sound).
It is known in the prior art that it is possible to utilize various herbs and herbal compositions to treat tinnitus. A listing of some of the herbs can be found in Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Revised Edition, compiled and translated by Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble. A summary of some known herbs and their therapeutic properties is listed below in Table 1:
Likewise, a listing of herbal compositions can be found in Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, compiled and translated by Dan Bensky and Randall Barolet.
Although it is known to treat tinnitus with certain herbs or with a combination of certain herbs, there are problems with known herbal and herbal combination treatments for tinnitus. The known herbal treatments tend to have only limited effectiveness and they tend to cause unpleasant side effects in for a significant amount of patients. These side effects include diarrhea, sleeplessness, irritability, and nausea.
What is needed is a better method for treating tinnitus.
The present invention provides a method for treating tinnitus comprising the step of administering to a subject requiring such treatment a therapeutically effective amount of an herbal composition comprising Radix Puerariae, Radix Platycodi Grandiflori, Radix Angelicae Dahuricae, Semen Coicis Lachryma-jobi, Rhizoma Zigiberis Officinalis Recens, Radix Ligustici Chuanxiong, Radix Paeoniae Lactiflorae, Folium Perillae Frutescentis, Flos Magnoliae, Herba cum Radice Asari, Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae, Radix Scutellariae Baicalensis, and Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis.
FIG. 1 shows a table summarizing the results of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.